merry flipping christ

It's the 25th of Friggin December and I'll be blown with the snow if it isn't just miserable out...all day. My friend from high school came over and watched us drink some sparkling apple cider and eat some really hard biscotti (he wasn't too hungry/thirsty...not a noontime party-er, I guess...)
He is now working for a (business that has several residences) home that has some mentally/emotionally unstable folks living there, I think he said three of them... and was up a good deal of the night cleaning this one fellow up from pooping on himself and  inable to sleep and being highly aggitated...which put him (my friend) on wake-up patrol. Apparently if a careperson can be at the home and sleeping they are paid minimum wage, and if they are up and dealing with the residents, then they get waking wages, (which seems like another example of employers taking advantage of employees and paying the absolute lowest they can think of. GGGrrrrr. Of course the caretaker has to sleep with one eye open anyway, in case something is brewing...I know because I've done that work before!! It's not such a lovely a piece of cake as one might think...and in fact requires limitless patience and observation as the residents are highly medicated and are apt to do some rather strange behaviors, even on good days.This is not to mention that the waking pay is under 10 bucks an hour and I'll be@)# $(*&)!#$%^ed  if some CEO at a hospital [or any other high income facility]...(and makes hundreds of thousands of dollars a year) ever has to do anything that is remotely as stressful or gross in some instances....GGGGGGGrrrrr some more!!!!!) Anyway, my friend has been promoted to full-time work and will not be spending the nights with the residents, and that is good news. Finding employment even vaguely related to his socialwork degree has been way difficult. We really need to think this out more carefully as a society. We are very quick to fund any number of wars at exorbitant cost, but when it comes to being there for people with special needs, or really ordinary needs for that matter, we fail time and time again.

I wonder if Jesus was actually as compassionate as he is reported to be, what he would think of this whole situation and how he would change stuff so that it was keeping everyone's best interest at heart. Don't get me wrong, I don't pretend to know Jesus on a personal level,(however I have gotten the basics on him), but I often wonder about all the masses of folks who think he's the cat's meow and want to live in his example, (and they seem to be every flippin' everywhere), why are we not doing a better job taking care of one another?!

'twas the night before Christmas...

I am listening to the poor Prince who is down in the basement bathroom, being protected from the 2 degree low that we are forecast to have tonight.(When I called at 11PM it was exactly zero, and then the wind began to howl about 1:23 precisely!) He is very sad and yowling, which is odd for him. He is a very quiet guy. I sat and brushed and talked with him for a long time, but he still didn't seem to quiet himself. I may have to go read him a story after a bit. (He fell asleep when I read the Weight of Water...it's not a very riveting book...)
It has been a cold day all day and it seems like a great time for some vegtable rice soup. That would be a great thing to have for the carpenderman I share (heart and house)space with, since he has been busy doing a bathroom remodel for the last few days...
I have had a nice day of baking, and cleaning and having Lynx, my good friend over for some tea. We listened to Pandora for awhile and talked about Juda and what is going on with all our kids. Family tensions are running high for her and she is rather upset by all that, understandably. Family can be most delightful and trying at the same time. It is a good time to do some meditation and yoga I think. It is hopeful that the days are getting longer now ...life will be brighter in the coming months.

Morning Mist

I leave(Texas)tomorrow. This morning I got up and had some of that rocket fuel coffee and went out walking, further than perhaps I have before. I was attempting to find a place that has not been covered by concrete and pavement, and I did find a place like that a fence that has markers along it to indicate that it has been surveyed for future building. Fudge!! I did also find a big owl in one of the remaining trees very patiently waiting for a tastey morsel to show it's face. The mist and rolling clouds were lovely and nourishing until I turned to face the wind which is decisively bone chilling....but not too bad. I know I have to toughen up to survive at home, I think they are warming up at a bit, at least I hope. ( I also saw a coyote trotting along the fence early this morning, only this time it was on the house side of the fence and not the other side...looking for some cat for breakfast, perhaps. Someone's declawed cat has been missing for a couple of weeks, and I am supposing it was a good meal for those who are out on the prowl.)
Anyway, I found a little frog pancake on the road on my way home. Tires had rolled over it enough to make this once perky anphibian into a leathery chunk of debris on the concrete. One of the problems with autos is that the machine can roll on top of something smooching the life out of it and never know what it has just done. I sometimes wonder how badly the animal population has sacrificed it's memebers so that we as humans can travel as quickly as possible from point A to point B. I shutter to think what those numbers are...the body count would be worse than any ethnic cleansing that we have waged on each other. I wonder sometimes if I might be from another planet to give a flying thought about it. Hmmmm.

More Bisbuzz Photos from My Trip

No pink houses in this Texas

I miss the colors of Bisbee ...                

(But this is not Bisbee, folks.)

Here I am landed someplace near Denton, Texas  and I re-commit that I will hopefully never live in a gated community where all is the same and predictability rules. Yuck. Give me the open range, thanks. I am here to help with my father-in-law who is fairly self sufficient, but gets dizzy( light headed he calls it... I'm not very sure I know the subtle differences of that topic) and needs maybe a check on once in a while more than anything.

The house where I am staying oddly backs up to Ross Perot's ranch and there are coyotes and bugs out there.( I found a perfect dehydrated little frog in the Kentucky blue grass sod that seems to go on forever...thrilled to find it however.) The other night I went to see a film (called Cookie's Fortune which I enjoyed very much!!) and when I was going into the "clubhouse" there were coyotes howling up a storm and singing to the nearly full moon. I was very appreciative of them and  appologised to them for having the humans smack dab in the middle of their paths that their families have had most likely for hundreds of centuries. There has been a recent bulldozing of trees and shrubs to make room for oil drilling that is happening all over the borders of this little "safe haven." I am glad to hear there has been some public outcry on this issue, but the economy has been the wrench that controls that activity more than anything, I think.  There is heavy machinery resting within a couple hundred yards of the back fence and that is grating on the nerves and sensibilities. There are big piles of woody vegetation that have been wrecked for this project. Thoughts of horrible little vigilanty activities bubble up in my mind...am I really made of criminal material? HMMMMMMMM we'll have to study that one carefully. The jury is still out on that one. (Depends on who you talk to I think.)

Anyway, word from home is 10 inches of snow and a high temperature of under15 degrees. That makes this misty and cool weather much welcome and not that bad. I will be back in the winterish stuff soon and so I need to go out and soak up some more of this southerly weather, and I think wearing two pair of pants from the airport to my house may be an option.The Soltice will be here in about two weeks or so and then, magically the days will grow longer and the time will come to start seedlings and get all excited and ansy for the coming spring, right? Right.

BusyBustlingBoilingBisbee

TODAY is called Black Friday. Yikes, all that was quiet about Bisbee was taken away today...the hordes are here. It became apparent that it is indeed a tourist town, and what keeps it alive are tourists, and it's true that I am one,(and I did buy some jewelry and honey and postcards) but I am not much of a fan of the crowds. We have canceled plans to eat out tonight and nibble on left overs, of which there are plenty. I have been scooting around taking pictures of patterns that catch my eye and different ways folks have decorated their yards and stuff I might see that has many conjugations. Tomorrow we have plans to venture off to Benson, which I believe has little or no appeal to the masses, but our main purpose is to hook up with some folks from Tucson and are good, good friends. I think we can manage to have a picnic and  a place to have conversation. Here's some of the photos, I am having the best time taking them!! We had a lovely (but massive) baking and eating day yesterday.It's SO fun to have this time here and to hide away at the J&R hotel...

I'm going to try this again. I am not having the best luck with my posting, but if at first you don't succeed...

I am loving the diversity of the natural and the human inspired creations, and it is apparent that the"juice" is flowing here. I am also nourished by that blue in the sky, and the transformation of an old mining town into a dig for the artist types. People seem friendly and fairly down to earth. I was thinking that mostly there were young folks here, but today, I saw some of the elders tromping around with walkers and canes(these are my people!!) Today is the last of the way warm days before I leave on Monday. The forecast is mentioning cooler temps with chances of rain and ...snow(?!!!) I'll just have to run away to Texas.

Bisbee

I landed into this funny place called Bisbee on Monday evening. I've been here before but not for about 45 or 46 years. Things were a bit different then and I was only 7 years old in January 1964. I went to the courthouse today and somehow it was a tiny bit familiar, but a lot of what I remember has been modernized.

I came to see my daughter Juda who adopted me some time ago. She(and the side kick dudefriend,R-man, and dogis) has an adorable house(all decorated with shells, rocks and shells) and works downtown at the coffee roasters. We walked up and down the hills earlier today and very ingenous and bold that humans have figured out how to stay on the sides of canyons and build all sorts of constructs to dwell in, many of which have disappeared with the wind and dust, but some whispers remain, steps that go nowhere...a wall here or an ore car that was used as a crapper there.

There are quite a few creative folks who have painted bright designs or outrageous colors on random houses...some murals and sculptures and contageous energy. I stopped by the chocolate shoppe and asked about their hours. ( I didn't buy anything there, yet...)I guess they are just opening after a bit of time off...

Anyway, it's refreshing and invigorating to visit a fun community like this and see how the kids are doing down here. Looking forward to having a great(buttered up) holiday and then blasting off to my next stop in Denton, Texas!! Word to y'all eating tomorrow...pace yourselves and keep some time for walking in your day, you may need it for more than one reason. Love to all you friends and fellow inhabitants of the planet.